BSOD Coming Up After Booting - Win. 7, 64-Bit

[lakeober]

Hello,

I have a Dell desktop that I am taking a look at for a friend. The computer is only about 1.5 years old. It is running 64-bit Windows 7 (Professional). Whenever I boot the computer, and it opens to the Windows desktop... the BSOD comes up about 30 seconds after the desktop is displayed, and then the machine restarts. I can't get it to do anything beyond that. I wanted to do a debug of the dump files, but was unable to retrieve them on the computer. So, I took the HD out, and connected it to a working machine with a SATA to USB cable. After debugging a few of the dump files, it shows that the two culprits are: ntkrnlmp.exe and tcpip.sys. Is there anything I can do to resolve the issue?

Like I said, the machine shuts off very shortly after Windows loads to the desktop, so I can't really do anything on the machine itself. I have to pull the HD out and connect it to another machine. Any help is greatly appreciate. Thanks!

 

[Bubbaleone]

Microsoft won’t tell you this, but you can do a fast, nondestructive, in-place, total reinstall of Windows 7 without damaging your user accounts, data, installed programs, or system drivers.

You could spend more hours trying to chase down what's causing the BSOD, or put the HDD back into the Dell, then grab a Windows 7 x64 installation disk and perform this procedure: Win7′s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall.

EDIT: I realize you've got a very brief time to work in. Thorughly read the procedure and have youself ready to go. Load the installation DVD, skip downloading the files from the web at the beginning of the in-place upgrade procedure, and immediately start the installation.
https://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/

 

[lakeober]

Thanks for the reply bubbaleone! That may be a good idea, considering I'd rather not have to back up all of the data and product serial numbers and reinstall the entire operating system and programs. I wasn't aware you could reload the operating system without formatting the drive first. One question, I do not have the original Windows 7 x64 Professional disk. I do however have a Windows 7 x64 Home Premium disc. Can I use that disk, or do I need to get ahold of a Professional disk? I would assume I would have to have the Pro disc, but I thought I would double-check. Thanks again for your help...

 

[Matt1970]

I would disable auto-restart, F8 at initial start of Windows boot, and see what the BSOD says. I suspect because of where you are getting the BSOD it may be related to a startup program.

 

[lakeober]

I booted up the machine, and disabled the auto-restart as you suggested. Before it even loaded up to the desktop, I got the BSOD again. When I did a debug, it gave me the same ntkrnlmp.exe result. I think for sure this is the file that's causing the problems. When I try to boot the machine in Safe Mode, I once again, get the same exact BSOD before it loads up the desktop.

 

[denis280]

I would disable auto-restart, F8 at initial start of Windows boot, and see what the BSOD says. I suspect because of where you are getting the BSOD it may be related to a startup program.

The same here. most of the time it is cause by the vidéo drivers.and avg is another one to be causing this.

 

[lakeober]

The same here. most of the time it is cause by the vidéo drivers.and avg is another one to be causing this.

I did try disabling auto-restart, but am still getting the BSOD. Is there any files I should try to delete or modify when I have the HD hooked up to a working computer with a SATA to USB cable? I am not able to do anything on the problematic machine itself, as I get the blue screen before I can do anything.

I suppose I can always try just reload the OS, but I would surely prefer not to. There are a lot of software serial numbers and programs that I would rather not have to install/configure.

 

[rolli59]

Most BSOD's are because of faulty ram sticks which then can relate to files when looking at dumps. If you have more than one ram sticks try running with one at a time.

 

[lakeober]

Most BSOD's are because of faulty ram sticks which then can relate to files when looking at dumps. If you have more than one ram sticks try running with one at a time.

Thanks for the idea rolli59. Unfortunately, the machine is just running a singe 4GB stick. I have a few desktops though, so I will check to see if I have one in another machine that I can swap out. If not, I suppose I can purchase one, it doesn't hurt to have a tad of extra ram. Can anyone verify if it is a common problem for RAM to go bad in a Dell desktop that is about 1.5 - 2 years old?

 

[Gunbuster]

Run the Dell diagnostics. Power up the machine and press F12.

 

[Bubbaleone]

I did try disabling auto-restart, but am still getting the BSOD. Is there any files I should try to delete or modify when I have the HD hooked up to a working computer with a SATA to USB cable? I am not able to do anything on the problematic machine itself, as I get the blue screen before I can do anything.

I suppose I can always try just reload the OS, but I would surely prefer not to. There are a lot of software serial numbers and programs that I would rather not have to install/configure.

Legitimate and legal download links from Digital River, of all Windows 7 versions, are available here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=32979735&postcount=3 . Load the DVD and boot from it. When you get to the Windows Install screen, select the Repair option (in the lower left-hand corner) which opens the Windows Recovery Environment.

The WinRE will attempt to automatically repair whatever is causing the PC not to boot. If the first attempt ends with the message that your computer can't be repaired; run the repair one or two more times before using the other recovery tools. Read this article for a look at the available repair tools; How to use the Windows 7 System Recovery Environment.

EDIT: I highly suggest using the command prompt tools. Note that the path to the Operating System, from within the recovery environment, will not be the same as it is in Windows Explorer. Use diskpart to first identify the actual OS drive letter, before attempting to to run the chkdsk or sfc command line tools.
.

 

[Ketchup]

As suggested, trying a different stick of RAM would be a good place to start. Ntkrnlmp.exe errors usually mean a driver problem, which can be quite difficult to track. If a different RAM stick doesn't fix the issue, try booting in safe mode. If successful, that would at least narrow down the culprit.

 

[lakeober]

I tried to boot the machine into Safe Mode, but that was unsuccessful. I still get the BSOD when booting into Safe Mode.

Also, I loaded MemTest to a USB drive, and booted from that to see what it would bring up when looking at the memory. Unfortunately, when I boot from the USB, it brings up the MemTest screen, but doesn't look like its doing much of anything. It just sits on the screen shown below:

Does this mean something is wrong with the RAM? I don't understand why it won't run MemTest??

 

[Ketchup]

It should start automatically. If it doesn't, either something went wrong downloading the software, or you nailed the problem. I find the second idea questionable, as you said it will load do the desktop before it crashes, so I would expect that it would at least start the test.

 

[lakeober]

Run the Dell diagnostics. Power up the machine and press F12.

I just ran the Dell diagnostics, and everything checked out as working properly... I even did the extended and more thorough memory test. I cannot figure this one out for the life of me. I suppose I am going to have to try and run Windows in the repair console.

 

[sdougal]

IMHO, I know it might seem extreme, but in my experience the only true solution is to a) back up all files on the HDD b) clean install OS, drivers and apps.

Yeah, sure.. It could well be RAM or some other software related issue but you're gonna end up chasing your tail trying to repair the current windows install and figuring out what the hell happened, when at the end of the day your pal wants a working computer...